Thomson Rossi Finds Freedom With a Server
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Company Overview
Founded in 1991 by Simon Thomson and Marino Rossi, Thomson Rossi is a highly regarded architectural firm specialising in dealing with "architectural challenges". With offices in the Adelaide suburb of Hindmarsh, the team, consisting of six architects, two interior designers and two administrators, works with a client base that covers a broad spectrum of institutions, including universities, corporations and government bodies.
Business Challenge
Regardless of the company operating a robust and flexible computer network, 2003 saw the partners and staff become frustrated with the inability of that network to support the increasingly sophisticated demands of today’s small businesses.
For Thomson, one of the most pressing needs was for full and secure access to the company’s network from home. “When I’m in the office during the day I rarely have the opportunity to work uninterrupted,” he says. “Both Marino and I are constantly called on to help our staff or simply carry out any of the enormous number of jobs required when you run your own business.
If we stay at work after hours then our family life suffers – and that isn’t an option. We really needed a solution that would enable us to use our notebook computers from home – or anywhere else, for that matter – log on to the network and do work that brings money in to the business.”
Another important issue for the company was the need to streamline collaboration between staff members, particularly with Microsoft Outlook, which is standard on every Thomson Rossi PC and notebook. “We rely heavily on Outlook to manage our time, projects and information,” Thomson says. “We work as a team, though, so the ability to share Outlook folders, such as the Calendar, with other team members was something we saw as being of enormous benefit.”
Solution
Microsoft Small Business Server 2003
Since 2001, Thomson Rossi has maintained a close working relationship with Calvert Technologies, a local information technology services company. In a meeting with that company’s owner, Dean Calvert, the decision was made to install Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) 2003 Premium Edition.
“The challenges facing Thomson Rossi are absolutely typical of an enormous number of Australian small businesses,” Calvert explains. “But these are also the companies that can ill-afford overly expensive and lengthy IT projects. With SBS 2003 we were able to install the network server operating system [Windows Server 2003] along with e-mail and collaboration systems [Exchange Server 2003 and SharePoint Services] quickly and relatively inexpensively.”
In commenting on the decision to use the Premium Edition, Calvert comments: “Security is a critical issue from any number of view points. With the Premium Edition we’ve been able to set up an enterprise-class firewall using ISA [Internet Security and Acceleration] Server, ensuring Thomson Rossi is protected against the growing number of external threats such as hacking and, of course, the Sasser worm.”
Business Benefits
Remote Access – Balancing Work and Home
To give Thomson and Rossi the ability to work from home, Calvert configured SBS 2003 to enable secure, password-protected remote access to the network via the Internet. With both company partners having ADSL Internet connections at their homes, this Virtual Private Network (VPN) functionality is providing them with new levels of freedom in their work.
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With the SBS 2003 VPN, Thomson and Rossi are now able to log on securely to the company’s network via the Internet and gain all the functionality they have when connected on-site at the office. “I can now be at home and have full access to files on the network, all the folders in Outlook and Exchange Server, and even our SharePoint Services intranet,” Thomson says.
“Anything I can do at my PC in the office I can now do using my notebook. As long as I have access to an Internet connection, I have the ability to work effectively whether I’m at home or even on-site with a client.”
Shared Information – Streamlined Collaboration
On the subject of Outlook and Exchange Server folders, Thomson points to the ability to share folders across the SBS 2003 network as being crucial to the company’s operations.
“Our Outlook Calendars play an essential role in our ability to manage projects effectively,” Thomson says. “We have a small but very efficient team with members working simultaneously across a number of different projects. Quite often I can be on the phone to a client and be put on the spot to organise a meeting with all project members. All I need to do is pull up the individual team members’ Calendars, check availability and set the meeting time.”
This enhanced level of Outlook functionality is brought out in SBS 2003 by Exchange Server, which is automatically installed during server set up. Dean Calvert explains: “Rather than everyone’s Calendars being stored in isolation on their PCs, everything – including task lists, e-mails and journals – is stored and managed centrally by Exchange Server.”
“Aside from the added security of including this central store in the daily backups, the use of Exchange Server allows users to share selected Outlook and Exchange folders with others on the network.”
Partnering – The Right IT Support
The relationship between Thomson Rossi and Calvert Technologies is one that has delivered enormous benefits to the architectural firm. “We’ve been in the situation prior to partnering with Dean’s company, where I gained a great understanding of how things can go wrong if you partner with the wrong IT provider,” Thomson says.
“If I was to give advice to other small business principles searching for an IT provider, then it would be reference checks and accreditation,” he continued. “Speak to other customers and find out what their experiences with the company have been over time.”
“In our business, we work to critical deadlines and if something goes wrong with our technology, then we need – and have – a partner who has the understanding of our business and technology that enables them to get in here, fix the problem and let us get straight back to our work.”
The Future – Flexible Technology
“We see SBS 2003 as a business tool,” Thomson says. “We’re using it to address the problems we had with remote access and information collaboration, but also looking to use it to give our business an edge in other areas we hadn’t initially considered.”
The SharePoint Services-based intranet, with interactive discussion boards, document libraries, access to incoming faxes and even surveys – all via a Web browser – is just one example of where Thomson is looking to explore additional business enhancement. “We have the groundwork done and we’re getting the benefits we initially wanted. That in itself is more than full justification for implementing SBS 2003,” Thomson explains. “From here, we’re taking the next step, which is examining how this technology can help us work even faster, better and smarter.”
Partner Details
Calvert Technologies
Web: www.calvert.net.au
e-mail: info@calvert.net.au
Phone: (08) 8443 7111
Small Business Server 2003 R2 available now! Read about the latest release of Microsoft’s award-winning server software.
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